Three weeks have passed since my last blog post. I have reminders on my calendar, and I’ve ignored them. I haven’t posted on my Facebook business page lately and the only time I’ve been on Facebook at all is to respond to someone else’s post. And the novel I was writing? I might as well say "What novel?” One of the members of my critique group stopped coming due to a serious illness and I let my writing slide. All the way into nonexistence. I didn’t have time for those. I’ve been busy. Working on my collaborative book F.A.I.T.H. That’s my excuse, and it’s a good one. Isn’t it? Yesterday I heard Rev. David Ault’s wonderful service at the Spiritual Living Center. He talked about taking responsibility and making choices. Life presents us with daily challenges. How we respond is up to us. I haven’t been a complete hermit. I have gone to some networking meetings. I have met up with business acquaintances for lunch. And I’ve put in a lot of time helping with my husband’s business. All good and worthy undertakings. So if my time was spent on worthwhile projects, then what’s the issue? The issue is balance. In today’s world of super rich social media, people want to know what’s going on. Your fans are eager for news about you, your projects, your successes, your failures. You need to move forward with your current program/product/service. You need to look at ways to enhance your distribution. You need to create new programs/products/services. And you need to keep constant contact with your audience. Because without your audience, you have no business. That’s easy, right? It’s not. Life presents us with daily challenges. I kept telling myself, “I’ll get to it. When I finish this design, I’ll work on my blog post.” The next day it was, “After this chapter I’ll schedule my quotes on Facebook.” Then a week went by and other projects took priority. Then another week. And another. It’s all about balance. Making choices. Sometimes projects can feel overwhelming. Deadlines loom and you just have to get things done. And that can create stress, overwork, and burnout. This is where you ask for help. 1. Can your spouse or friend or virtual assistant pitch in? Even an hour or two can make a huge difference.

2. Can you take a 5-minute break every hour to just breathe and relax? Or get up and dance. Move your body. This recharges your system so you can continue. 3. Can your assistant handle your blog posts and Facebook scheduling while you’re working on design and layout? Two items can get completed in the same amount of time. The exciting news is that F.A.I.T.H. will be heading to the printer for proof copies, which means I have a little breathing time now to devote to other things. Like blog posts. And Facebook scheduling. And talking to my friends. Yay!